


Rescue

by eClair23



Category: Kingdom Keepers - Ridley Pearson
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24702226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eClair23/pseuds/eClair23
Summary: Set in Book 3 of the Return series, Disney at Last...Philby comes to help Jess break Willa out of the morgue, and cuteness ensues.
Relationships: Isabella "Willa" Angelo/Dell Philby
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

Willa had lost track of how long she’d been stuck in the extremely cramped drawer in the morgue. It could have been fifteen minutes or two hours. She had tried to sleep, but the overwhelming sense of panic had made that attempt unsuccessful. Now, she was so cold that sleep threatened to take her against her will. Her fingers had gone numb a while back. She fought to stay awake. 

Of course, it helped that someone was making a lot of noise, banging around in the room outside her tiny metal prison. Wait, what? Willa didn’t care if the people banging around were friends or enemies. If they were hostile she could fight, and if friends, even better, she’d get out of here. It was a win-win. She hollered through the gag, banging her hands on the bottom of the drawer as hard as she could with the little leverage she could achieve, given that her hands were bound. 

Philby and Jess turned toward the sound. Philby’s voice was tinged with worry. “Willa?” 

Jess yanked open the drawers around Willa and finally pulled out the correct drawer. Jess sighed in relief, sounding like she was holding back tears. “Thank goodness you’re okay!”

Willa’s eyes widened. “Jess? Dell?” Her smile was wobbly.

Philby eased Willa to a sitting position in the drawer, undoing the bonds on her wrists and ankles. Jess pushed in, hugging her tightly as Willa burst into tears. Whether this was out of relief or fear, Jess and Philby couldn’t tell.

Jess helped Philby lift Willa from the drawer and lower her to the ground to rest against the wall, then she continued to check out the other drawers for clues as to what Hollingsworth’s goons had been up to. Philby sat next to Willa, close enough for their shoulders to brush. 

Her teeth chattered. “Th-thank you guys for saving me.” 

“Of course. I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner. I tried to cross you over, but the program couldn’t handle it. So, uh, I guess this is Plan B?” He gave a nervous laugh, then put his arms around her in a brief hug once he saw that she was still crying. He pulled back to look at her, but she refused to let go of him, intead pulling him closer. 

He patted her back. “Hey, you’re okay.” She didn’t respond. “What’s wrong, Willa? You’re shaking.”

“So… cold.” 

“Huh?”

“There was a… a fan, in there. It was so cold, I thought I was going to…” she shuddered, unable to finish the sentence, then buried her face in his chest. “You’re so warm.” 

He laughed shakily, rubbing her arms to try to help warm her up. 

Jess finished up with the drawers, overhearing the end of their conversation. “I’ll go look around, see if I can find anything else.” Philby gave her a thumbs up behind Willa’s back, and Jess left the room, treading quietly.

“I can’t believe you came for me,” Willa breathed.

“I love you.” He kissed the side of her hair, holding her tight. 

Her breath caught, and she clung to his shoulders. “I love you, too, Dell.”

Willa sniffled as she pulled away, her tears finally stopping. “Is Wayne going to be okay on his own?”

Philby smiled, wiping her tears away with his sleeve. This girl, always thinking of others before herself. He loved that about her. “He’ll be totally fine. I was needed here.”

She smiled shyly. “You were. Thank you for coming.”

“Anything for my girl. Besides, I was really worried. Jess can testify, I sorta… panicked.”

Willa feigned surprise. “You? No.”

Philby pretended to be offended. “I couldn’t help it, I’m a sucker for you.”

Willa rolled her eyes. “That was the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said to me, Dell.”

“Thought it might help warm your heart.”

She grimaced, wrinkling her nose in the way he found so adorable. “Even worse.”

Philby tucked her hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek. “Willa, can I–”

Her breath caught and she nodded at him, eyes wide. He brought his lips to hers gently, enjoying the feel of her lips on his, and revelling in the fact that he would remember it this time. No spell was being broken here. His fingers splayed across the small of her back, pressing her closer. They were kissing just because they wanted to, not out of necessity or fear, but out of love and relief that they were both still alive. She kissed him back eagerly, her hand in his hair as she melted into him. She didn’t mind having waited years for this moment one bit. It was worth it. Kissing him in Aruba had been good simply because she was kissing Dell, but having him kiss her back? Beyond anything she could have imagined. She felt like she was floating. 

Jess cleared her throat from the doorway. “First off, it took you two long enough,” she stifled a giggle, “and second, I found a blanket for you, Willa.” She tossed the blanket to Philby, who was flushed scarlet. He snagged the blanket, then draped it across Willa’s shoulders. She gratefully pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

“Thanks.” Willa offered Jess an apologetic smile.

Jess replied, “I’m done and ready to go whenever you feel up to it, Willa.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Willa said determinedly. 

Philby stood and offered her his hand to help her up, which she gratefully accepted. The three walked out of the funeral home, shaken but stronger for it. Willa leaned heavily on Philby, who kept a firm arm around her as they made their way back to meet the other Keepers and Wayne. Willa was sure they were in for a round of teasing when they got back, but for now, she was happy and content to treasure the memory of hers and Dell’s first real kiss–even if poor Jess had been there, too.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that evening, Willa flopped onto her bed in 1955, holding the sweatshirt close to herself. She hadn’t been able to stop smiling since the kiss, and she certainly hadn’t been able to focus very well (which was unusual for her). Every time they made eye contact, the butterflies had started in her stomach all over again. 

Willa closed her eyes, breathing in the smell of Philby’s cologne on his sweatshirt. She loved that smell–it reminded her of countless hugs, and now that one very special kiss, all tied to the scent of Philby. 

Charlene pushed the door open and sat on the bed next to her. “Did Philby do something cute?”

Willa’s eyes flew open. “Hmm?”

“You’ve had this dopey smile on your face since you came back from the morgue.”

Willa self-consciously tried to wipe the smile off of her face, or at least make it less dorky.

“No, no! It’s adorable. I’ve just never seen you like this before. So what gives?”

Amanda and Jess came in the door, too, settling themselves on the end of their beds.

“What’s up?” Amanda asked.

“Willa was about to tell me why she’s been grinning like a lovestruck teenager all evening,” Charlene informed them.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because she is a lovestruck teenager?” Jess smirked knowingly.

“Oh, hush, give her a chance to spill!” Charlene urged.

Willa smiled–a sweet smile, remembering something that was just hers and Philby’s. It made her feel all warm inside. She touched her bottom lip. “He kissed me.”

Charlene squealed and fell off the bed. Jess shook her head, laughing. Amanda grinned. Once Charlene recovered and pushed herself up off the floor, she was gaping. “Omigosh, finally!”

Willa giggled. 

“How did it happen?” Charlene settled herself on her bed next to Willa’s, leaning forward in expectation.

“Well I was stuck in the morgue, in one of those drawer things… and he and Jess came to get me out, and Jess left for a minute, and… well, he told me he loved me,” she confessed. Jess didn’t know that part; she raised an eyebrow.

Charlene squeaked. “OMG! Willa, you just had like the craziest day ever.”

Willa smirked. “I know, I was there. Anyway, I told him I loved him, too, and he asked if he could kiss me and then he did.” 

Charlene couldn’t resist any longer; she enveloped Willa in a hug, squeezing her so tightly she couldn’t breathe. “Char… can’t… breathe…”

The other girl pulled away, still keeping her arms around Willa. “I’m sorry, I’m just so excited for you! I mean, we’ve waited for this day for how long? Three years?!”

“Oh, yeah.” Willa shook her head in disbelief. “Oh my gosh, I’ve still got butterflies… I’m never going to focus again. Or be able to sleep for that matter.”

Amanda chuckled. “I totally get that. It’s the same with Finn.”

“Aww, you guys are adorable. I bet Philby feels the same way, did you see how distracted he was through dinner? He couldn’t stop staring at you.”

Wila blushed. “It was a really good kiss.”

Charlene laughed out loud.   
~  
Willa left the girls’ room to grab a glass of water and ran smack into Philby, who steadied her with a hand on her arm.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she blushed. “What are you doing out here? It’s late, you should be getting some sleep.”

“Couldn’t sleep. You ever feel like your brain won’t shut off?” 

She laughed. “All the time.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh good, I’m glad it’s not just me. I couldn’t stop thinking about today.” 

“I was just going to grab a glass of water, if you want to join me,” she offered. The two made their way to the sink, where Willa filled up a glass of water. “Me either,” she confessed, sipping her water. “It was a really good day.”

“Mm,” he hummed, running a hand through his hair. “It sure was.”

She placed the empty glass by the sink, and they started to walk back toward the rooms. Once outside the girls’ room, she pressed her forehead against his chest, snaking her arms around him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, love.” He rested his chin on top of her head, the two of them swaying in their pajamas in 1955. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of saying that.”

“Me either.” Her voice was sleepy. She stifled a yawn. “But I definitely will still get tired, I guess!” She laughed lightly.

He chuckled. “Alright, time for both of us to try to get some rest. See you tomorrow,” he kissed her cheek. “Sweet dreams.”

“You, too,” she quietly opened the door and slipped into the girls’ room, feeling her way over to her bed. She tugged the covers over herself and drifted off to sleep, her mind quieted.


End file.
